'Social Network' Actor Lands Role in 'Dark Knight Rises' (Exclusive)

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Josh Pence

Josh Pence will have a key part in a flashback sequence in Christopher Nolan's new Batman film.

Josh Pence, who played opposite Armie Hammer as Tyler Winklevoss in The Social Network (where Hammer's face was superimposed on his), has been cast as a young Ra's Al Ghul in Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's new Batman movie.

The movie's casting has been ultra-secret, although Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are returning to lead a caped crusading cast, which includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard.

The story line has also been kept locked up in the Batcave but Pence's casting throws more than a few crumbs to follow. Ra's Al Ghul was played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins, thus paving the way for a possible return of the supposedly dead character. Also, while the studio never confirmed Cotillard's character, it has been rumored to be that of Talia Al Ghul, the daughter of Batman's mentor-turned-enemy.

Sources say Pence will appear in scenes that take place 30 years prior to the present story.

Pence, repped by Innovative Artists and Industry Entertainment, recently wrapped Battleship, Universal's big-budget action movie based on the board game, and indie political thriller The Algerian.